THE GAME AT A GLANCE
• In its last game, Friday in Minnesota, the Impact suffered its second loss of the season, bowing 2-1 to the Thunder, at James Griffin Stadium in St. Paul.
• The Impact remains alone in first place in USL First Division standings with 32 points, three ahead of the Vancouver Whitecaps, who have played four more games.
• Montreal also leads the league on several other fronts: the average of points collected in the standings per game (2), goals allowed per game (0.5), goals allowed (8) and shutouts (11).
• The Impact will try to improve on its team record for best start to the season at home, which presently stands at eight games without a loss (5-0-3).
• Since Seattle joined the league in 1994, the Impact has a 5-12-1 lifetime record against the Sounders.
THE OPPONENT
• The Sounders (7-8-4) are the USL D1 reining champions. They are presently 5th in league standings with 25 points, tied with the Atlanta Silverbacks and the Puerto Rico Islanders.
• The Sounders had a slow start to the season but are presently in a good stretch, having suffered just one loss over their last seven games (5-1-1).
• Seattle picked up 2-1 and 3-1 wins over the Portland Timbers, July 21 and 22, in a home-and-home series.
• The Sounders are last in the league defensively, with 34 goals allowed so far this season, but have the best offence on the road with 13 goals (ave. 1.3 goal/game).
• Last season, the Sounders finished fourth in regular-season standings. They then beat the Impact in the semifinals and went on to win the championship final against the Richmond Kickers.
PRE-GAMES COMMENTS
HEAD-COACH NICK DE SANTIS
“When we play against Seattle, it’s always a tight game. They’re climbing up the standings so we’ll have to be careful. But there’s no doubt we want a good result at home. We had the edge in the last game against the Sounders, and we want to do the same thing in Montreal. We know it will be an important game for them, so we’ll have to be ready.”
DEFENDER NEVIO PIZZOLITTO
“It’s always a battle against them. They’re the type of team that can win five games in a row and quickly get back in the playoff picture. They have big, strong guys. We want to bounce back after our last loss in Minnesota. We still haven’t lost at home so we’d like to keep that streak going.”
CAPTAIN MAURO BIELLO
“The last game against them was physical, with several yellow cards and two red cards. There was some tension between the two teams. On our side, we were thinking about our elimination against them in the playoffs last year. We wanted to win to put that loss behind us. I’m expecting another intense match-up on Wednesday night.”
FACTS TO FOLLOW
• After 16 games so far this season, defender Gabriel Gervais is the only Impact player to have played every minute of every game (1,440).
• Defender Nevio Pizzolitto has played 16,021 regular season career minutes with the Impact so far and is only 41 minutes away from defender Patrick Diotte (16,062) and third place in the club’s history.
• Midfielder Patrick Leduc picked up his 13th career assist Friday in Minnesota, allowing him to join Darko Kolic in seventh place in club history. He is only one assist away from Grant Needham and sixth place (14 assists).
ON ANOTHER NOTE
• Young goalkeeper Vincent Cournoyer, who had signed an amateur contract on June 13 in order to compensate for the absence of goalkeepers Greg Sutton and Gerry Argento, has been released.
• Impact midfielder Leonardo Di Lorenzo will miss Wednesday’s game after receiving a red card in the last game against the Sounders, July 15 in Seattle. He will serve the third and last game of his suspension.
• For its fourth Jos Louis Public Practice, that will take place July 31st at Jean-Yves Phaneuf Park in Granby, the Impact will play a friendly match against celebrities from the artistic and sports circles. All profits will go to Opération Enfant Soleil.
INJURIES
Team – Player (Position) – Injury – Status
MTL - Patrick Leduc (M) - light ankle sprain - could be available for the game
MTL - Joel Bailey (F) - turf toe - should be available for the game
MTL - Jason DiTullio (D) – knee - return date TBD
MTL - Greg Sutton (G) - fractured index finger - could return in August
IMPACT’S LAST GAME
Fri. July 21: Impact 1 – Thunder 2 (@ St. Paul, Minnesota)
Goal: Massimo Di Ioia (Patrick Leduc) 53rd
NEXT GAMES
Fri. July 28 - Impact @ Atlanta - Silverbacks Stadium - 7:30 pm
Fri. Aug. 4 – Impact @ Virginia Beach – Virginia Beach Sportsplex – 7:30 pm
Sun. Aug. 6 – Impact @ Virginia Beach – Virginia Beach Sportsplex – 4 pm
Wed. Aug. 9 – Rochester @ Impact – Claude-Robillard Sports Complex – 7:30 pm
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Source: Patrick Vallée, Montreal Impact
Info: 514-328-3668, ext. 27
